Pick-up head system

ABSTRACT

A pick-up head system for use with a surface cleaning vehicle comprises a housing having a suctioning bottom opening open in fluid communication and debris transfer relation to the interior. A debris receiving main inlet is disposed in the front wall of the housing, in debris transfer relation for receiving debris to the housing. A substantially sealed continuous-debris-passing door apparatus is operatively mounted on the housing at the debris receiving main inlet in vertically movable relation for movement between a substantially sealed surface engaging position whereat the substantially sealed continuous-debris-passing door apparatus extends upwardly from the level of the bottom peripheral edge of the housing, and a raised position whereat the substantially sealed continuous-debris-passing door apparatus is raised above the substantially sealed surface engaging position; and a debris outlet in the housing open in fluid communication and debris transfer relation to the substantially hollow interior of the housing.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/496,410 filed on Jun.13, 2011, which is herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to surface cleaning vehicles, and moreparticularly to dustless pick-up head systems for surface cleaningvehicles

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior art pick-up heads do not completely seal to the ground in a mannerwhich allows material to readily enter the front of the pick-up head.Material enters the pick-up head by way of pushing back the pliablefront flap that runs along the front, or by way of an opening to permitpassage of debris into the housing. This readily presents theopportunity for dust and other fine particulate matter to escape fromthe housing.

Furthermore, the pliable front flaps on conventional pick-up heads allowfor a temporary loss of suction power within the width of the pick-uphead as debris enters. This causes the suction port to reject internalairflow while it is receiving air from the atmosphere and material issubsequently left behind which is highly undesirable.

It is known in prior art to incorporate debris access points in pick-upheads which can be controlled from the operator's seat in order to allowaccess for large accumulations of litter, leaves, etc. This is meant tobe temporary to avoid continuous loss of suction pressure within thevacuum chamber.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dustless pick-uphead system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustlesspick-up head wherein the front face of the pick-up head is in sealingrelation to the ground thereby precluding the entry of debris.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustlesspick-up head with a centrally disposed, sealed debris port.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustlesspick-up head that allows for the digestion of material relative to thedirection of travel.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustlesspick-up head that can digest large accumulations of debris, litter andleaves without greatly reducing vehicle travel speed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustlesspick-up head that allows the continuous entry of debris while precludingany loss of suction pressure within the entire width of the pick-uphead.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustlesspick-up head that precludes dust and other fine particulate matter fromescaping the pick-up head housing.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustlesspick-up head that is more efficient thereby allowing either a fastereffective sweeping speed or a reduction of energy, thus fuel, to performthe same job.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there isdisclosed a novel pick-up head system for use with a surface cleaningvehicle having a fore-aft axis of travel. The dustless pick-up headsystem comprises a housing having a front wall, an interior and asuctioning bottom opening defined by a bottom peripheral edge and openin fluid communication and debris transfer relation to the interior, anddefining a fore-aft axis; a debris receiving main inlet in the frontwall of the housing, in debris transfer relation to the interior of thehousing for receiving debris to the housing; a substantially sealedcontinuous-debris-passing door apparatus operatively mounted on thehousing at the debris receiving main inlet in vertically movablerelation for movement between a substantially sealed surface engagingposition whereat the substantially sealed continuous-debris-passing doorapparatus extends upwardly from the level of the bottom peripheral edgeof the housing, and a raised position whereat the substantially sealedcontinuous-debris-passing door apparatus is raised above thesubstantially sealed surface engaging position; and a debris outlet inthe housing open in fluid communication and debris transfer relation tothe substantially hollow interior of the housing.

Other advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention,as well as methods of operation and functions of the related elements ofthe structure, and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description and the appended claims with reference tothe accompanying drawings, the latter of which is briefly describedherein below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of thedustless pick-up head system according to the present invention, as toits structure, organization, use and method of operation, together withfurther objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understoodfrom the following drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment ofthe invention will now be illustrated by way of example. It is expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only, and are not intended as a definitionof the limits of the invention. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of thedustless pick-up head system according to the present invention mountedon a surface cleaning vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment dustless pick-uphead system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the preferred embodiment dustlesspick-up head system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a left corner elevational view of the preferred embodimentdustless pick-up head system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side perspective view from underneath of the preferredembodiment dustless pick-up head system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional side elevational view of the preferredembodiment dustless pick-up head system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional side elevational view of the preferredembodiment dustless pick-up head system of FIG. 1, with the raisable andlowerable sealed door assembly is in a raised position; and,

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view from the right side of the preferredembodiment dustless pick-up head system of FIG. 1, with the raisable andlowerable sealed door assembly is in a raised position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 1 through 8, which show a preferredembodiment of the dustless pick-up head system of the present invention,as indicated by general reference numeral 100. The dustless pick-up headsystem 100 is for use with a surface cleaning vehicle 102 for removingdust (including fine particulate matter) and debris (including bottles,cans, leaves, dirt, and so on) from a surface to be cleaned 104.

The preferred embodiment dustless pick-up head system 100 is for usewith a surface cleaning vehicle 102 for cleaning a surface to be cleaned104 and basically comprises a housing 110, substantially rigid skirt108, a debris outlet 120, debris passage 130, and a substantially sealedcontinuous-debris passing door apparatus 150 operatively mounted on thehousing 110. The dustless pick-up head system 100, particularly thehousing 110, define a generally central fore-aft longitudinal axis “L”.

More specifically, the dustless pick-up head system 100 comprises ahousing 110 extending between and first end 111 and a second end 112,and having a suctioning bottom opening 114 defined by a bottomperipheral edge 109. Further, the housing 110 has a front wall portion115, a back wall portion 116, interconnected by a roof portion 118. Dustand fine particulate on the surface to be cleaned 104 pass under thefront peripheral edge portion 109 f and are suctioned into thesubstantially hollow interior 119 of the housing 110.

The substantially rigid skirt 108 is disposed at the bottom peripheraledge 109 of the housing 110 for interfacing the housing 110 insubstantially sealed relation with the surface to be cleaned 104 as thesurface cleaning vehicle 102 moves along the surface to be cleaned 104.The substantially rigid skirt 108 is for interfacing the housing 110 insubstantially sealed relation with the surface to be cleaned 104 as thesurface cleaning vehicle 102 moves along the surface to be cleaned 104.The substantially rigid skirt 108 precludes the passage of almost allair (and contaminants therein, such as dust and other fine particulatematter and the like) from escaping out of the housing 110 in the eventthat a section of the housing 110 has a higher air pressure than theambient surroundings, which can occur with recirculating air typepick-up head systems, if the seal with the surface to be cleaned is notpresent. A very small portion of air is suctioned between thesubstantially rigid skirt 108 and the surface to be cleaned 104 topreclude any dust and other fine particulate matter and the like fromescaping from the housing 110, and also to suction in dust and otherfine particulate matter and the like under the substantially rigid skirt108 at the front wall portion 115, which may be created as thesubstantially rigid skirt 108 at the front wall portion 115 engages thesurface to be cleaned 104.

Further, the substantially rigid skirt 108 precludes the passage oflarger debris, such as stones, bottles, cans, leaves, and the like, frompassing under the front wall portion 115 as the housing 100 and movesalong the surface to be cleaned 104. Instead, the substantially rigidskirt 108 directs small debris, such as gravel, along the housing 110 tothe debris receiving main inlet 142 at the sealedcontinuous-debris-passing door apparatus 150. The front wall portion 115of the housing directs larger debris to the debris receiving main inlet142 at sealed continuous-debris-passing door apparatus 150 due to theright-to-left rearward slant of the housing 110.

A debris outlet 120 is disposed in the housing 110 for permitting dustand debris to egress from the housing 110 into a hopper. The debrisoutlet 120 is disposed towards the back wall portion 116 of the housing110 generally centrally disposed between the first end 111 and thesecond end 112. The debris outlet 120 is connected in air flow deliveryrelation through a delivery duct 121 to a hopper for permitting dust anddebris to egress from the housing 110 into the hopper.

As can be readily seen in the figures, the substantially sealedcontinuous-debris-passing door apparatus 150 operatively mounted on thehousing 110 at the debris receiving main inlet 142 in vertically movablerelation for movement between a lowered surface engaging position, asbest seen in FIGS. 1 through 6 and a raised debris passing position, asbest seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. The substantially sealedcontinuous-debris-passing door apparatus 150 comprises a rotatable doorassembly 146, the door frame 145, the seal 147, and the selectivelyoperable actuation means 190, that is mounted in hinged relation on thehousing 110 by a suitable sealed hinge 143. Alternatively, any othersuitable means could be used, such as a pair of left and right opposedpins engaged in co-operating ball bearing mechanisms. Additionally oralternatively, a pliable material, possibly in bellows form, could beused to maintain a seal between the door frame 145 and the housing 110,as necessary.

The rotatable door assembly 146 has at least a first door portion and asecond door portion joined together at a central pivot axis “P”, andoperatively mounted at the central pivot axis “P” in rotatable relationon the door frame 145. A seal 147, which is preferably made from rubber,is operatively disposed between the rotatable door assembly 146 and thedoor frame 145 for sealing the rotatable door assembly 146 with respectto the door frame 145, to thereby substantially preclude air fromingressing into the interior 119 of the housing 110 through the debrisreceiving main inlet 142 and to thereby substantially preclude theegress of debris from the interior 119 of the housing 110, as therotatable door assembly 146 rotates to permit debris to enter theinterior 119 of the housing 110.

The housing further comprises a first side wall 145 a and a second sidewall 145 b disposed on opposite sides of the debris receiving main inlet142. The first side wall 145 a and a second side wall 145 b are eachmade from a low friction material, such as ultra-high molecular weight(UHMW) polyethylene. The outer periphery of the door frame 145preferably engages the first side wall 145 a and a second side wall 145b in sliding contact. Accordingly, virtually no gap exists between theouter periphery of the door frame 145 and the first side wall 145 a anda second side wall 145 b, thereby precluding air from escaping from theinterior 119 of the housing 110 into the ambient surroundings.

The sealed door assembly 150 is disposed immediately forwardly of thedelivery duct 121. The sealed door assembly 150 is moved between itslowered position and its raised position by means of a hydrauliccylinder 141 that is operatively interconnected between a mountingbracket 144 b at the top of the sealed door assembly 150 and a mountingbracket 121 b extending outwardly from the delivery duct 121.

The hydraulic drive motor 190 is mounted on the top of the rotatabledoor assembly 150 via a chain drive 144 c. The chain drive 144 c iscovered by a small generally vertically oriented housing 144 h in orderto generally preclude dust and other contaminants from reaching thechain drive 144 c, and also to preclude the escape of air and dust fromthe housing 110.

A rubber gasket type of material, or the like, is disposed at one orboth of the sealed door assembly 150 and the opening of the debrisreceiving main inlet 142 of the housing 110, in order to provide a sealbetween the sealed door assembly 150 and the housing 110 when the sealeddoor assembly 150 is in its lowered surface engaging position.

Alternatively, the sealed door assembly 150 could be mounted invertically sliding relation on the housing 110 by means of a pluralityof parallel rails that are oriented either generally vertically, or evenat an angle to vertically.

In the lowered surface engaging position, the rotatable door assembly146 would engage the surface to be cleaned as described above. In theraised debris passing position, the rotatable door assembly 146 would bedisposed in spaced relation from the surface to be cleaned, therebyallowing large debris to readily enter the housing 110, such as debristhat might be too large to fit through the door frame 145 with therotatable door assembly 146 in normal operation, or excessive amounts oflarge debris that need to be permitted into the housing quickly. Inorder to minimize the amount of time that the housing 110 might not bein a reduced air pressure situation, air cylinders could be used toquickly move the rotatable door assembly 146, the door frame 145, thesealing means 147, and the selectively operable actuation means 190between the lowered surface engaging position and the raised debrispassing position.

In use, when the surface cleaning vehicle 102 is travelling along asurface to be cleaned 104, it is common to encounter a situation whereinlarge debris has difficulty entering the interior 119 of the housing 110through the debris receiving main inlet 142. In this case, the sealeddoor assembly 150 is moved by the hydraulic cylinder 141 from itssubstantially sealed surface engaging position to its raised position.Once the large debris has passed through the debris receiving main inlet142, under the rotatable door assembly 146, the hydraulic cylinder 141lowers the sealed door assembly 150 back to its substantially sealedsurface engaging position.

As can be understood from the above description and from theaccompanying drawings, the present invention provides a dustless pick-uphead system with a generally, centrally disposed sealed door assemblyand debris inlet that allows the continuous entry of debris whileprecluding any loss of suction pressure within the entire width of thepick-up head and that precludes dust and other fine particulate matterfrom escaping the pick-up head housing all of which features are unknownin the prior art.

Other variations of the above principles will be apparent to those whoare knowledgeable in the field of the invention, and such variations areconsidered to be within the scope of the present invention. Further,other modifications and alterations may be used in the design andmanufacture of the dustless pick-up head system of the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:
 1. A pick-up head system for use with a surface cleaningvehicle having a fore-aft axis of travel, said dustless pick-up headsystem comprising: a housing having a front wall, an interior and asuctioning bottom opening defined by a bottom peripheral edge and openin fluid communication and debris transfer relation to said interior,and defining a fore-aft axis; a debris receiving main inlet in the frontwall of said housing, in debris transfer relation to said interior ofsaid housing for receiving debris to said housing; a substantiallysealed continuous-debris-passing door apparatus operatively mounted onsaid housing at said debris receiving main inlet in vertically movablerelation for movement between a substantially sealed surface engagingposition whereat said substantially sealed continuous-debris-passingdoor apparatus extends upwardly from the level of the bottom peripheraledge of said housing, and a raised position whereat said substantiallysealed continuous-debris-passing door apparatus is raised above saidsubstantially sealed surface engaging position; a debris outlet in saidhousing open in fluid communication and debris transfer relation to saidsubstantially hollow interior of said housing.
 2. The pick-up headsystem of claim 1, wherein said substantially sealedcontinuous-debris-passing door apparatus comprises: a door frame; arotatable door assembly having at least a first door portion and asecond door portion joined together at a central pivot axis, andoperatively mounted at said central pivot axis in rotatable relation onsaid door frame; and, a seal operatively disposed between said rotatabledoor assembly and said door frame for sealing said rotatable doorassembly with respect to said door frame, to thereby substantiallypreclude air from ingressing into said interior of said housing throughsaid debris receiving main inlet and to thereby substantially precludethe egress of debris from the interior of said housing, as saidrotatable door assembly rotates to permit debris to enter the interiorof said housing.
 3. The pick-up head system of claim 1, wherein saidsubstantially sealed continuous-debris-passing door apparatus is mountedon said housing in vertically movable relation by a pivotable mount, forpivotable movement about a sealed door axis.
 4. The pick-up head systemof claim 3, wherein said substantially sealed continuous-debris-passingdoor apparatus defines a front end and a back end and said pivotablemount is disposed adjacent the back end of said substantially sealeddoor apparatus.
 5. The pick-up head system of claim 1, furthercomprising a drive mechanism for moving said substantially sealedcontinuous-debris-passing door apparatus between said substantiallysealed surface engaging position and said raised position.
 6. Thepick-up head system of claim 1, wherein said drive mechanism comprises ahydraulic motor.
 7. The pick-up head system of claim 1, wherein saidhousing further comprises a first side wall and a second side walldisposed on opposite sides of said debris receiving main inlet.
 8. Thepick-up head system of claim 7, wherein said first side wall and asecond side wall are each made from a low friction material.
 9. Thepick-up head system of claim 8, wherein said first side wall and asecond side wall are each made from ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW)polyethylene.